Saturday, July 4, 2015

Battle of Worringen - Using Lion Rampant

My fellow Hawaiian expat, Kimo, and I got in a nice Lion Rampant game today based on the Battle of Worringen. Kimo chose to run the Archbishop's retinue. This was Kimo's first time with the rules, and only my second time. No worries though as the rules are quite simple and easy to pick up. Here are some images of the game which ended up unhistorical as the Archbishop won handily over he forces of Brabant.
The Archbishop's forces cautiously moving towards the Brabantines. Note the carroccio which was designated the "Leader" model. It was activated for movement with a roll of 8 - which Kimo managed to do quite often. Otherwise it held no combat value.
The "Ferocious Serfs" having managed to reach the confines of the Worringen watchtower first attempt to secure it. Enemy crossbowmen reach the walls opposite the Serfs. They would've been a bit more ferocious with better Attack and Defence Values.
On the western side of the battlefield, the Archbishop's crossbowmen have taken up covered positions in the woods. From there they have already caused numerous Brabantine casualties. Note the Brabantine crossbow unit with white skull casualty markers and a red Battered marker - after failing their Courage test.
A view looking towards the Brabantine forces. Kimo was very cautious with his cavalry which had the Wild Charge rule. The plowed fields halved movement for cavalry, but not for infantry. Note the Serfs trying to stay out of enemy crossbow LOS by moving around the watch tower.
Berg infantry allied with Brabant moving towards infantry belonging to Reginald of Guelders. Note that the Bergers have taken casualties from the enemy crossbowmen hiding in the woods to their left. The Bergers chose not to attack them in the rough terrain - although, in retrospect maybe they should have. They ended up being routed off the field later on.
The Serfs allied with Brabant unwisely take on enemy crossbowmen. Three separate units of Serfs eventually were destroyed or routed off the table during the game. I should have played them historically - at the actual battle they held back until the Archbishop's forces were locked in close combat with the Brabantines.
Remnants of Berg infantry in close combat with Guelders infantry. As both units are classed as Serjeants, the Bergers who charged had a harder To Hit value than the defensive Guelders. The results were as expected.
Infantry of Julich having successfully formed into Schiltron receive the charge by Luxembourg infantry (allied with the Archbishop). Both have already sustained casualties from previous missile fire.
Mounted Men at Arms belonging to the Archbishop having been lured into a Wild Charge by a small unit of Brabantine Serjeants finally get into the action. Although in the defense, the Serjeants failed to hit enough of the enemy to take out a casualty.
After failing their Counter-charge roll, Brabantine cavalry receive Luxembourg Men at Arms. The Brabantines lost the round and ended up failing their Courage test and retreated.
The forces of Jan of Brabant having lost over half of their forces, the game was called a Victory for Siegfried of Westerburg, Archbishop of Cologne. The actual battle was a resounding victory for Jan of Brabant, but bad dice rolls (read failed activations) early on in the game really hindered deployment for the Brabantines. I had lowered the activation for crossbow Shooting from 7 to 6, and this seemed to make them a bit too powerful. Otherwise it was a nice game which flowed smoothly. Kimo suggested that the core rules would work very well for Samurai. Something I may do in the future.

28 comments:

  1. Looks like a fun game, great batrep Dean!

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    1. Thank you very much! It was a great game. Warm regards, Dean

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  2. Great post Dean, now thinking perhaps a move from Dux to Lion Rampant for my Chinese Project.
    Cheers
    Stu

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    1. Thanks, Stu.I am keen on seeing your Chinese game, regardless of rules. Warm regards, Dean

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  3. Looks like a great game, with some quite impressive dice rolling by your friend Kimo! LR is superb in the sense that they offer a very flat learning curve, combined with enough complexity on the unit's abilities to give interesting and diverse games.

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    1. Thanks, Soren. Besides my poor activation rolls early on, I did have some good to hit rolls. Best, Dean

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  4. Fantastic game Dean! I love minis too:)

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    1. Thanks a lot, Mike. Appreciate the interest and kind words. Regards, Dean

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  5. Great looking game and nice to see some of your beautiful figures in action.
    Cheers

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    1. Thank you for the kind words, Steve. It's a scenario I've wanted to play out for a long time. LR seemed to work well for it. Best, Dean

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  6. That looks absolutely stunning Dean, what a treat to see the collection on the field of battle.

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    1. Thank you kindly, Michael. It was refreshing to use them again (and the Serfs for the first time) in a new rule set. Warm Regards, Dean

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  7. Nice batrep. Looks great as always mate.

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    1. Thank you very much for the kind comments, Simon. Best, Dean

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  8. Excellent troops and report Dean!

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    1. Thanks, Mike! Appreciate the visit and nice comment. Regards, Dean

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    1. Thank you very much for your interest and kind words, Greg. Much appreciated, Dean

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  10. Outstanding to see some of your recent works of art hit the gaming table. Too bad Kimo had the hot dice to thwart your best laid plans.

    Conversion to Samurai gaming would be interesting to see.

    Job well done!

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    1. Thanks, Jonathan. I was happy to see my buddy pull off the win - especially for his first LR game. Besides, I always try to get the game moving, even if the tactics are not the soundest. :) Best, Dean

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  11. Figures look superb, still not got around to playing these rules yet.
    Likewise, will be keen to see how the Samurai version would play.

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    1. Thanks for the visit and thoughts, Pat. I think you'd be pleased with these rules. Not much of a big buy in both for the cost of the rule book and the amount of figures needed, It'll be just a matter of time for a Samurai Rampant game since I have figures and terrain for it. Warm regards, Dean

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  12. Great batrep and some fantastic looking figures :)

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    1. Thank you for the visit and nice words, Mike! Best, Dean

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  13. Great looking game Dean and thoroughly enjoyed the report!

    Christopher

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    1. Thank you very much, Christopher. I appreciate your visit and happy to hear you liked the game. Regards, Dean

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  14. Rules of the game I don't understand, when I'm not have never played
    But this landscape, tower, and terrain, I like them

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    1. Thanks, MM. You'd find the rules very simple, yet with enough variation for a fun game. Warm regards, Dean

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